Nonresidential, public spending at all-time highs

U.S. construction spending fell a smaller-than-expected 0.2 percent in November, led by the eighth consecutive drop in private residential building, but nonresidential and public construction reached all-time highs, a government report said Wednesday.
Construction spending fell to $1.184 trillion in November.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.5 percent drop in overall construction spending in November. Compared with a year ago, total spending was up 0.1 percent, according to the Department of Commerce.
The overall drop was driven by a 1.6 percent decline in private residential construction and a 0.6 percent drop in private construction.
But public construction rose 1 percent to an all-time high of $278.4 billion. And private nonresidential construction saw a 1.4 percent boost in spending to reach $316.5 billion, the highest level ever.